Many people like to multi-task while watching television. In some cases, a person may like to surf the web or chat with friends while watching television. In some cases, a person may play a game while watching television. These activities sometimes draw viewers away from television to their personal computer, cell phone, game console, or other network connected device.
Sometimes, computer users perform searches for content that is available on the Internet. For example, a user may browse to a web site for a search engine. At the search engine web site, the user enters a search query. The search query generally includes words, phrases, or operators that describe what the user is looking for. The search engine processes the search query and returns a set of search results to the user. The search results generally include links to web pages or other content available on the Internet that match one or more terms in the search query. The user can then select a link in the search results to navigate to the corresponding web page.
Some enhanced television systems, such as WINK, OPENTV, ADVANCED TELEVISION ENHANCEMENT FORUM (ATVEF), YAHOO WIDGETS, and OPENCABLE APPLICATION PLATFORM (OCAP), can display Internet content on top of television content. In some cases these systems use triggers built into the audio/video signal to link particular television shows or advertisements with a specific interactive application. These systems can associate an application with a particular point of a particular program.